2008 Year in Review

December 2007: That was the month of the big ice storm which knocked out power to nearly all of Fort Riley's residents and all other surrounding areas. I bought a new laptop to take with me to my mom and dads, who I visited over Christmas. Travis was still down range.

January 2008: I had been out of work now for just about 3 months and was really starting to go stir crazy. I spent most of January hanging out with friends and waiting for Travis to get home.

February 2008: I got a nice bouquet of flowers from Travis and celebrated the 1 year mark of the deployment with some friends. This is also when Jane moved back, and I was happy to accommodate Jane, her dad, and Corbin for the night.

March 2008: We started to hear rumors about when the guys were coming back. Nobody could say for sure, but we all had a feeling it would be within the next month or so. I also celebrated St. Patricks day with Lisa...who is 100% Irish by the way! She cooked a real Irish feast...yumo! This month, however, was not so good for some of us though...as we lost another young man from our unit. While I had only been acquaintences with him, he was a good friend of Travis' and well loved by C Co. RIP O'Brien . His was the first memorial service I had ever gone to.

April 2008: Travis redeployed this month!! Could not have asked for more. He was one of the first people home, who came with the big crowds. April for sure, was the best month for me this year. The Moser's were together again. This month also marked the year anniversary for me attending Grace Community Church, the church that will always feel like home to me. This month we also bought the TV that is now in our livingroom. TTC officialy resumed this month, which high expectations.

May 2008: We went on a much needed and much deserved vacation to Florida. Then we trecked back home to visit family and friends. It was wonderful to see Travis interacting with everyone, home where he should be. We also bought our Garmin GPS this month....something I had wanted for a long time! My niece Isabell was born this month, she is a beauty! BFN.

June 2008: We started to go through our house and set aside items that we were going to donate, just to cut down on things to pack for our move. Although we knew we would be PCSing to Germany...it still was not a reality for us. Also, had another HSG this month, which revealed that I have a slight bicornuate uterus but not bad enough that it would affect pregnancy, according to the doctor. Another BFN. Pregnant women were starting to pop up everywhere, and I wanted to be part of that.

July 2008: Celebrated Travis' 23rd birthday, went to the Sundown Salute with our good friends the Gonzalez's and had a really good month until the BFN.

August 2008: Travis and I went out to dinner with Br. Larry and suggested we renew our wedding vows. We took up the offer and Pastor Bryan and the church supplied everything for us and FOR FREE! We renewed our vows in a church, in front of God and everyone. This was an extremely momentous ocassion for us both. We were getting in a time crunch as PCS'ing was near. Our HHG and UAB was packed and shipped this month. BFN.

September 2008: We dropped off our car, headed to the airport with cats in tow, and flew to Germany! Our flight just happened to be on our anniversary and the flight crew gave us a complimentary bottle of champagne. We tried it, but found that neither one of us care for champagne. The flight was long and painful, but we made it at last. We also got our USAEUR licenses and rented a car this month too. The trip made AF late, so we thought I was KU, but it turned out to be a BFN. I was really missing church by this point. I also met Renee and Katie this month!! Two very good friends who have helped the transition into Baumholder worth the while. Oh, and my 27th birthday was this month.

October 2008: We FINALLY got all of our HHG and UAB making our house look like a home. We were still having to rent a car, as ours still wasnt here. I went for a referral appt at the health clinic here and that was a disaster, so I started seeing Dr. Matu, who immediately did some blood workup on me and we started the infertility diagnosis. Needless to say, another BFN. I also started going to the Good News Service here on post in Chapel 1. Its a Gospel service and its nice. The service on Wednesday, is full Gospel like I am used to. What a God send!! He knew what I needed, and put it in my life.

November 2008: Dr. Matu determined that I dont ovulate early enough and thats why my cycles are getting longer and longer. In fact, I may not even ovulate some cycles. We had our first thanksgiving in Germany, with Renee and Katie and man was it wonderful! I also made a new friend, Lu. She is German and lives right next door. We got our car this month, and couldnt have been happier! Finally, we dont have to shell out euro to rent a car anymore. It wasnt that hard getting it registered either. I have also taken many classes at ACS, including EPC training. Travis and I are going to become EPC parents, how exciting! BFN.

December 2008: Dr. Matu is getting really expensive, since I have to pay for everything in euro. The chief nurse from the clinic called about my appt in October and apologized for everything that went wrong. She got it to where I can see a Tricare PPN and it would be fully covered (except for IUI/IVF..which I know). Unfortunately, I wont be seeing Dr. Matu any longer, but its only because he doesnt take my insurance. New Dr. is Vander Osten in Birkenfeld. First appt is Jan. 12. We celebrated our first Christmas together since the deployment, and it has been wonderful! I experienced my first Green Christmas here in Baumholder, what with no snow and all. It has only snowed once or twice and melted away. Thats ok, I heard we will be getting plenty more later on. We had a huge Christmas dinner and were happy to fellowship with friends and make new ones. I also sang at a memorial service for the first time, what an honor.

Cannot wait to see what the new year has in store. I have faith that 2009 will be the year of Gods people, and surely He will provide for us in all ways. I know that there were other significant things that happened this past year as well, but at the moment I cannot recall what they are. Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day. Many blessings and love for the new year!

God bless!!

~Sally

Christmas and early New Years Resolutions...

Hello! I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas, and the love of God shone through all the headaches that seem to come around this time of year....kind of a paradox huh? Anyway, we had a great Christmas together and had a HUGE dinner with some friends. I love to have people over for dinner. I am not big into etiquette or napkin rings or any type of formal gatherings...I am not THAT complicated. I just like to have friends over to laugh, eat, and fellowship. It wa really nice to have people over, and we were all missing our families and some their husbands. I feel very blessed that Travis and I were able to be together this year. Even though I was with family last year, I still missed my husband and was sad on Christmas. We had the usual feast of turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, macaroni salad, desert pies and a cake, and our friends brought some wings and a really tasty sicilian meat roll and a dirt cake...YUMMY!! Needless to say, I will be doing some extra walking over the next few months, just to make sure this holiday season didnt TOTALLY ruin my diet! I also decided that I was going to make my new years resolutions early this year. I have given them some thought...and here they are.

1. Become a better vessel for Christ, getting closer to Him
2. Become the wife that God wants me to be
3. Trust God with all my difficulties in life and truly give Him all my problems
4. Stop over eating and emotional eating
5. Take better care of my body by eating healthy and exercising more
6. Let God use me for His will, instead of my own
7. Keep in touch with family and friends moreso than what I do now
8. Not worry about anything
9. Do as much traveling as I can
10. Pray every day for an hour, and fast 1 day a week

I know these might sound ambitious and "religious" (did I mention that I dont like that word??), but when my relationship with Christ is good, everything else will fall into place. I am really hoping that I can stick to these resolutions. I pray that each of you can fulfill yours as well...even if you dont make resolutions, I know you must have goals you want to accomplish. Well, take care and God bless. Thanks for stopping by!

48 months...

So we have another failed attempt at getting pregnant.....we have been actively trying now for jut over 4 years (as long as we've been married). That is 48 failed attempts at pregnancy...wow. I was really upset about it yesterday, and it hit me really hard for some reason. I think my mind and my body are getting exhausted, and considering that we dont really have any more money in the bank (because living in Germany is expensive) our finances are exhausted. Yeah, so yesterday was not good for me. I let the enemy steal my joy......not anymore. Not to say that I wont have my bad days, but not like this...not anymore. Sometimes I forget that God is bigger than me and my problems.....I am sorry God. I forget what is right in front of my face, what I have now; a wonderful home to live in, food to eat, a nice car to drive, and most of all a husband who means more to be than anyone else in this fallen world. We are still going to pursue TTC, but with a different mind set...at least from my end. Why should I expect God to bless me with children, when I am not being thankful or acknowledging what is already in front of me? How selfish and silly I have been. Forgive me Lord, for my soul was not right with you. God's word will not be returned void....I know that we will get what we pray for in His time. Thanks for listening and God Bless.

~Sally

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

So we have decorated for the Christmas Holiday, and it is a really wonderful feeling to hang up the pretty ornaments and sing Christmas songs while you're doing so. I love the holidays and all the meanings behind them. Here are some pictures of our livingroom area, enjoy!

The stockings hung on our "family wall" with care...
The angel nativity made from sand-stone.
One side of our living room (just for show!)
A close-up of one of the ornaments...just messing with my camera. Can you see the photographer?
Our Christmas Tree, complete with reindeer guardians!

We have gotten some snow here in Baumholder, but nothing too bad and that is alright with me!! Travis has been on a rather strange detail the last couple of weeks, which is a nice change from him having to do CP or staff duty. Travis has been busy constructing "Christmas Houses" at the DFAC, and he is proud of his work. Here are some pictures of his accomplishments (which is earning him another medal and already earned him some more coins!!).

Travis' most recent addition.

His first 3 houses.

We are excited for our first Christmas together since the deployment and anxiously await the blessings before us!! God is great and greatly to be praised! Blessings to all!

~Travis and Sally